There Was Death in My House

Yesterday was the 6th day since my dear grandmother passed away.

Since then things went back to normal (on my side at least).

When my mom called that day, telling me to come back if I didn't have anything to do that weekend, instinct told me to just go.

So I went.

After 2 hours of driving in the rain (90% of the way), I arrived home and went straight to the hospital. I managed to see my granma bfo she passed away. She was panting on the CCU bed sitting in a tripod position. She couldn't reply when I called her. But she responded.

As with all deathly scenery, the atmosphere was somber. Emotions ran high. My mother, predicted that she (granma) would go soon. She told us to go home and prep the house.

Sure enough she passed away about 30 minutes later.

My house was converted into a party place in an hour.

The funeral proceedings continued on til Saturday. I was directly involved in the process. From the prep to bathing to transportation to praying to burying.

I learned a lot from this experience.

There was so many cultures intermingling with how we treat the dead. And most are not Sunnah. Positioning the deceased towards the Kiblat, placing the Quran above the head, the Tahlil's, the continuous Tahlil's, siram air bunga.

We also had kids around. I learned how exposure and explanation is necessary.

A few more things occurred that I couldn't mention here. But they were valuable life lessons anyway.

I'll miss my granma. She was nice to all of us and was always the peacemaker in the family. Her lost will be a big hole in our hearts.

I hope that she'll be in a better place now. Insyallah.